Miya Atsumu's fingers.
With a loud thud, the volleyball hit Miya Atsumu's left ring finger and middle finger before bouncing high out of bounds.
Hirugami, having landed, turned his head to chase the ball, but in the end, he failed to catch it.
Hinata landed on the ground, biting his lip hard.
The whistle blew, Bessho Chigen, standing on the rack, blew his whistle to signal that Hinata had touched the net, resulting in a point for Hirugami's side.
Only then did Hakuma snap out of it, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
Across the net, Hinata bowed deeply toward Hoshiumi in apology, "I'm sorry! I made a mistake!"
Only then did Hoshiumi withdraw his gaze from where the volleyball had just landed.
He tilted his head back, looking down at Hinata.
After a long time, Hinata heard Hoshiumi's voice coming from above his head: "Nice job, my set was a little too close to the net."
Hinata snapped his head up, meeting Hoshiumi's somewhat awkward expression.
He bowed again. "Thank you, senior! I will keep working hard!"
Sweat trickled down from his cheeks, falling onto the floor and leaving behind a trail of wet marks.
Hoshiumi waved his hand and lowered his gaze, staring at the bottom edge of the net.
It was a bit unexpected; he thought Hinata would choose to spike Hakuma's ball, so the serve was slightly biased toward Hinata's dominant side, causing the entire trajectory of the ball to gradually approach the net.
He didn't expect Hinata to actually choose to spike against Miya Atsumu in the end..
Beside the court, Oori nodded. "A very wise choice."
Hakuma was certainly a novice, his technique and experience were no match for a veteran like Hirugami, who had fought for years in the Middle Blocker position, but he was, after all, trained by Karasuno's Coach Aran.
Even though his time was short, Hakuma's blocking fundamentals were absolutely up to standard.
Coupled with the seamless chemistry between the Karasuno players that allows them to cover for each other in time, it would be a huge mistake to assume he is a weak point that can be easily broken through.
By comparison, the weaker point in this blocking lineup..
It was indeed Miya Atsumu, without a doubt.
Looking down at his hand that Hinata had just used for leverage, Miya Atsumu dazed for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter.
He stepped forward and grabbed the net, looking down at Hinata, who was right in front of him, his face filled with an uncontrollable excitement.
That's right, exactly like that.
Struggle, think.
Tearing open a crack wide enough to pass through, squeezing up the ascending stairs, then.. constantly approaching the height where they were.
This feeling makes one tremble, also brings uncontrollable joy.
Uncontrollable laughter escaped from Miya Atsumu's mouth: "Hahahaha.."
That was awesome—
Hoshiumi shot a glance toward Hirugami on the other side of the net: Is this guy crazy?
Hirugami shook his head: "Ignore him."
Temporarily ignoring the perverted Miya Atsumu, Hoshiumi Hikari rubbed his chin.
Just as Hirugami thought, the original intention of this practice match was to give Hinata some experience. Since there were already some results, it was time for him to change up the tactics as well.
Thinking this, his gaze shifted toward Rishia Heisuke on the other side.
Different players have different uses, right now, Hinata is undoubtedly suited to play "that role."
Since it's a match, how could anyone not want to win?
—It's time to speed up.
Author's Note:
His head was filled with nothing but mamo's voice..
Chapter 13: The Thirteenth Fox
Across the net, Hoshiumi bared his teeth and flashed a mischievous smile at Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu, who had originally been staring at Hinata, noticed Hoshiumi's gaze and blinked, somewhat confused.
Miya Atsumu, whose focus was nowhere near Hoshiumi Hikari, lowered his head, thinking about Hinata.
Although Hinata's use of a decoy just now was unrefined, he was already able to use it consciously.
There's no need to rush regarding technique; there are plenty of people in the team who can use a decoy, so he can just grab anyone to teach him when the time comes. Right now, he wants to see how Hinata's timing on technical plays actually is.
So next.. should I continue to apply pressure?
Hoshiumi took his position near the front row, leaving the task of receiving serves entirely to the two first-years.
Setting Hinata aside for a moment, Rishia's receiving skills were quite solid and very reliable.
And now, as the setter, what he must do is research how to manage the rotation to secure a victory.
However..
Hoshiumi looked up at the ball Hinata had sent over, a joyful smile spreading across his face.
In a situation like this, there's no need to overthink the method, is there?
A three-man block is certainly powerful, but even Karasuno couldn't blindly use a three-man block in every situation.
To perform an effective block, they must know clearly which player on the opposing side is the one spiking.
If it's a Quick Attack, you can't just observe the movements of the attacker; you also need to pay close attention to the setter's setting motion.
The more variables there are to judge, the higher the probability of a mistake during the block.
So the simplest method is to stir up the waters as much as possible, because after all.. Hinata isn't the only one on the court.
The moment Hoshiumi made the motion to set the ball, Hakuma had already reacted.
This ball was clearly still coming toward Hinata's side; Hoshiumi must have been very frustrated by his own mistake on that previous play.
But just as he took his first step, the volleyball flew up at an almost vertical angle, landing very close behind Hoshiumi.
Miya Atsumu, who had also jumped in front of Hinata, was momentarily stunned.
But they no longer had time to change course to the other side; they could only watch helplessly as Rishia Heisuke spiked a ball into the empty net on the other side, scoring the point with ease.
Rishia, who had landed on the ground, wore a strange smile.
This point.. was taken so easily, it felt strange.
Hinata raised his hand and pointed to himself. "Wasn't it meant for me?!"
He jumped with such sincerity, even shouting that he would definitely score this time.
Ahhh, how embarrassing—
Miya Atsumu tried to protest: "Hey! Hikari-kun! This is cheating!"
Hoshiumi glared back without backing down, "This is a match; you're being too idealistic. There's no way we could just keep giving it to Shoyo; he wouldn't be able to score points anyway."
Hinata clutched his chest, feeling as if someone had stabbed him right in the heart.
Hirugami and Hakuma, who were also caught up in the scolding, lowered their heads in silence. None of the three of them had reacted in time; they were all part of what Hoshiumi called "presumptuousness."
Hoshiumi Hikari put his hands on his hips and turned around after successfully scanning everyone present, his back radiating an unmistakable sense of smugness.
Volleyball is not a one-person sport.
When all eyes on the court are focused on a target that is far too conspicuous, then that person becomes the best "shield."
The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow formed by its obstruction.
And shadows.. can also be lethal.
On the other side, Hakuma retreated under Hirugami's signal, preparing to receive the ball.
Since Hoshiumi does not intend to keep feeding the ball to the same person, they also cannot continue to exert pressure with a three-person block.
Among them, Miya Atsumu's receive level is undoubtedly the highest without a doubt, but unfortunately, they need to ensure Miya Atsumu's ability as a setter.
Hoshiumi passed the ball to Rishia Heisuke once again.
“Over here! Jump!” Hirugami and Miya Atsumu rushed straight toward them.
But Rishia's technique and raw strength were many times greater than Hinata's, his full-power straight spike ultimately scored by landing right on the line.
"So amazing! Heisuke!" Hinata's eyes sparkled.
So cool! A straight shot at an extreme angle between the block and the sideline; the control of the angle was incredibly precise, staying perfectly in bounds.
A flash of admiration flickered in Suwa's eyes as he watched Rishia Heisuke: "That tall freshman from Inarizaki.. is unexpectedly stable."
Completely different from Hinata's erratic performance, every one of Rishia's spikes was incredibly solid, his judgment on straight and cross shots was equally precise.
Although you couldn't see much else from those few plays, but.. you could truly feel the sensation of "this is the future ace being nurtured by Inarizaki."
—He follows a very similar path to Owari Aran.
Both Hirugami and Hakuma realized this as well, they began to subconsciously shift more of their attention toward Rishia Heisuke.
And since Hakuma's own receive level was not high, it directly resulted in the heavy responsibility of receiving being placed on Hirugami.
Hirugami barely managed to save the ball from Hoshiumi's second attack, but it flew straight back to the opponent's side.
“Free ball!” Hoshiumi took two steps back, preparing to set it directly.
In this state, Hirugami certainly wouldn't be able to get back up to block. Adhering to the philosophy of striking while the iron is hot, it would definitely be better to do it as quickly as possible.
“Give me the ball!” Rishia raised his hand, calling for a receive.
Hakuma immediately looked at this guy who could spike a decent straight ball.
Hoshiumi's stance facing the net shifted in this instant, the ball he had originally prepared to send toward the left wing bounced directly toward the right wing instead.
The entire trajectory of the ball was short and flat, almost a straight line.